Unemployment

For 2026, the Bank of Greece anticipates growth of 2.3%, highlighting that a key risk factor for these projections is the potential escalation of the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Inflation is expected to fall to 3% in 2024, primarily due to a decrease in inflation for food, non-energy industrial goods and services.

At the start of summer 2024, Bulgaria has reported record low unemployment levels. According to the latest data from Eurostat, the share of job vacancies across the European Union declined to 2.4 percent in the second quarter, down from 2.6 percent in the previous quarter.

Economists have lowered their expectations for China's full-year GDP growth following the release of disappointing economic data over the weekend, NBC reports. Eswar Prasad, a professor of international trade and economics at Cornell University, highlighted that Beijing's outlook for the second half of the year is now "flashing red, or pretty close to red."

The employment climate is expected to be clearly improved in Greece for the last quarter of 2024 according to the latest ManpowerGroup Hiring Outlook Survey.

Based on the survey, in which 524 Greek employers participated, Greece's outlook has improved by 8 points compared to the previous quarter and by 2 points compared to last year.

Türkiye's unemployment rate declined from 9.2 percent in June to 8.8 percent in July, according to data released on Sept. 10.

The number of unemployed people fell by 112,000 from a month earlier to 3.2 million as of July, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data showed.

From 2025, social security contributions will be reduced by one percentage point. This aims to provide businesses with the capacity to increase wages, in response to labor market shortages, with the goal of raising the average wage to €1,500 and the minimum wage to €950 by 2027, as per government commitments.

More than half of the unemployed in Bulgaria lack professional qualifications, according to data from the Employment Agency. This group has grown by 8% compared to the first half of last year. Currently, over 152,000 people are unemployed in Bulgaria, with more than 87,000 of them lacking professional qualifications.

The Labor Ministry will focus its efforts to increase employment on the large pool of more than 4.2 million people who are outside the labor force - i.e. neither working nor looking for work - while the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on Thursday the unemployment rate stabilized at a single digit (9.8%).

The Munich-based Ifo Economic Research Institute expects zero growth for the German economy this year, which today revised its previous estimate of 0.4% growth.

The recent record high in gold prices has sparked discussions among financial analysts about its implications for the economy. Analysts suggest that this trend could signal an economic slowdown, potentially leading to reduced interest rates by the end of the year.